Awake - Illumination

Year of Release: 2007
Label: Lion Music
Catalog Number: LMC 209
Format: CD
Total Time: 48:50:00

I write this as a my eyelids weigh heavily on my brow. Strictly looking for music to keep me enlivened while working the late shift, I shuffled through my stacks. As soon as I saw this sleeper in the pile, I knew it was just what I needed to combat insane levels of serotonin flowing through my head.

Not exactly cookie-cutter or copycat, I do hear Dream Theater in its progressively enceinte design. The singer's voice is sound; however, verses seem forced. The alliteration does little to cover up syllables cramped within the confines of their tightly strung lyrics. Notes from guitars oftentimes push the beat farther than the framework allows, too. Going against conventional wisdom, I like it anyways. Their modus operandi gives the music a soothing feel that can be likened to a primordial lullaby. Then again, this could be metal for the campfire since its accelerants cause listeners to stay bright eyed and bushy tailed around its flickering kindle.

While I wasn't exactly alert enough to pick and choose specifics from its sticky pyre, "Choices In Time" and "Begin Again" were the silhouettes in the corner that stood out. Still, this release is consistent from each rigid twig to the next, and it did the trick to keep me upright throughout the night. Plus, the guitar solo in "Shadows" effectually evicted the quintessential monster in the closet. So now its homeless due to their assertive shredder.

Bedtime stories aside, this music stirs the creatures of the house, including your computer's mouse. As if the anecdote to prescription sleep aid Ambien, Awake's Illumination was the precise wakeup call deemed necessary for me to finish tasks.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/awakeuk

Tracklisting:
Disbelief (3:23) / Retribution (3:29) / Crime Of Passion (4:16) / Choices In Time (4:31) / Begin Again (3:56) / The Price You Have To Pay (4:22) / Dream Within (4:22) / Illumination (4:12) / Forgiven Now Forever (4:28) / My Last Goodbye (6:12) / Shadows (5:33)

Musicians:
Simon Shedwell - vocals
Richard Hall - guitars
Chris Le Motte - bass
Craig Burkitt - keyboards
Alex Townsend - drums

Discography:
Illumination (2007)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin UK

Added: January 18th 2009
Reviewer: Joshua "Prawg Dawg" Turner
Score:
Artist website: www.awakemusic.net
Hits: 4707
Language: english